There are several events during Hedge End Methodist Church’s celebration of Christmas this year. Details are given below:- In addition to these highlighted events our normal Sunday services will take place throughout December.

Christmas Lunch

This will take place on Sunday 6th December at a cost of £10. Booking forms are now available at the back of the church giving more details. This will a traditional Roast Christmas meal, with Christmas pudding or Apple pie to follow. The booking forms will need to be returned with your payment by Sunday 22nd November. Sorry we can only feed people on the day who have booked.

Christmas”Jammy Church”

We will be celebrating Christmas by Crafting, Eating and Watching the Puppets between 10.30 and 12.30 on Saturday 12th December although this activity is primarily designed for families, people of all ages are welcome to attend. More details about Jammy Church can be found at https://www.facebook.com/JammyChurch

Sunday Christmas Celebration

On Sunday 13th December at our usual time of 10.30 a.m. Rev Arthur Cowburn will be leading our Sunday Service. This service will be for people of all ages and will include a Christmas based activity.

Carol Service

This will take place in the Church on Sunday 20th December at 4. p.m. and will include Bible Readings and Carols interlaced in the traditional Manner. The service will be led by Rev Arthur Cowburn and the Church Choir.

Christmas Eve “Midnight Service”

This will take place at 11.30 P.M. on Thursday 24th December. The Service will be conducted by our Minister Rev. Arthur Cowburn and will include Communion.

Christmas Morning Service

There will be a service at 9.30 on Friday 25th December. The short service will be conducted by Rev. Les Judd. We celebrate the coming of the Christ Child, lightheartedly and with Joy on this special day.

Today (8th November) was Rememberance Sunday. This is the time when we remember all those people who where involved with Wars many of whom lost there lives. We welcomed Rosemary Minett who took a service of rememberance with us. As part of the service Rosemary spoke about the fact that so many people expected God to stop all horrible things and asked her and many other Christians “Why has God allowed that to happen”. She thought that God did not want any of these things to happen any more than we did but it was a consquence of giving people freewill.

The service included the usual two minutes silence, and also included a poem written by a member of the congragation which explored the fact that it was now over 100 years since the First World War and that they hoped in 1914 of the end of all wars and how it does not seem to have happenned yet.

Many of those folks who normally attend Church attended the service at the Cenotaph in Hedge End. The Cenotaph service started with a parade by members of uniformed organisations such as the Scouting and Guiding movements and members of our Boys and Girls Brigades. Members of our Church were outside serving drinks to anyone attending the Parade, as they passed our Church after the Service.

The Tea, Coffee, Chocolate and squash, was appreciated by many people passing by. Our Thanks to all the members of the Church who were involved in any way in making this initiative possible.

Whilst we were thinking about rememberance in Hedge End our Minister Rev. Arthur Cowburn was taking part in the Service in Eastleigh Town Centre. This was in has capacity as Chaplain to the Eastleigh Mayor Counciller Jane Welsh. He will also be taking part in a service at the Military Cemetary in Netley this afternoon

On Saturday 14th November we will be holding our next Jammy Church. This event will take place between 10.30 and 12.30 p.m.

We shall be thinking about “the lamp under the bushel” as mentioned in Matthew and Lukes Gospels.

Jammy Church is our once monthly activity session for children, their families and the young at heart. There will be various activities and crafts to take part in and some food to eat. You do not need to attend all the session; you could just pop in to see what we are up to.

On Sunday 18th October our Organist Stuart was interviewed on the Tim Daykin Show the regular Faith Show on Radio Solent. Stuart was in conversation with a lady called Charlotte who is a Singer they discussed together “Music In Church”. This piece was broadcast as part of Radio Solents coverage of “Faith in the World Week”.

This link is to the whole programme if you havent got time to listen to the whole programme if you start to listen at 01.50 on the timeline you will get to the specific piece. Our Thanks to Radio Solent for allowing us to link to their site. Please note this programme will only be available until 15th November.

On Saturday 7th November we will be hosting the Circuit Prayer Breakfast between 8.30 and 10.00 a.m. We will start by enjoying Cereals, Porridge and Toast together. Then Prayer will be led by the Rev. Arthur Cowburn. This is part of the series of monthly prayer Breakfasts being hosted in turn by the Churches in the Southampton Circuit.

The article below was Originally from Moira Sleight, Managing Editor of the Methodist Recorder and has been submitted by one of our Church Members as food for thought.

The tricky art of disagreeing without being disagreeable

Captain of Israel’s host was sung with great gusto in the Methodist Central Hall Westminster as last year’s Conference of the British Methodist Church came to an end with its traditional closing hymn. True, some felt that the hymn that had opened the proceedings had a first line more suited to our exhausted feelings — Charles Wesley’s “And are we yet alive?” — but for another year the conference’s work was done.

Meeting in conference is a very Methodist way of doing things. Wherever you find Methodists in the world — from Russia to Brazil, from Finland to Kenya and to South Africa — they hold a conference in order to confer together and find their way forward as disciples of Christ in today’s world.

In doing so they are following in a long tradition. The first Methodist Conference was held in 1744 under Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, when he brought together his assistants — both ordained ministers and itinerant lay preachers — to confer about “what to learn, how to teach and what to do”.

In his writings, Wesley referred to “Christian conference” as a means of grace and at its best it can be. Anyone who has been at a bad-tempered church council meeting or synod will know what it can be at its worst.

Wesley also sensibly once asked: “Do not you converse too long at a time? Is not an hour commonly enough? Would it not be well always to have a determinate end in view; and to pray before and after it?” Many people who have served on church committees at any level would say “amen” to that.

In recent years American Methodists have been exploring the idea of “holy conferencing”, which sets out principles to help Christians to be caring in their conversations, conferring and decision-making, especially when dealing with polarising subject matters.

It should be possible to disagree without being disagreeable, they say. In his Letter to the Ephesians, St Paul felt he needed to urge his readers: “So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another . . . Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up.” Sadly, over the centuries the Churches of all denominations have not always shown that they have taken this advice to heart.

Holy conferencing does not mean that there is no place for impassioned speech. On the contrary, if people feel strongly about something, then it is natural that their passion will show. Within that passion, though, others should be respected and their viewpoints not misrepresented. In this soundbite age, when people are vilified for making comments that have been taken out of context, this is more important than ever.

The principles put much emphasis on real listening. Holy conferencing is not about convincing others that we are right. Instead it is about listening to others in such a way that we come to understand better why they hold their beliefs. That means proper listening — not just preparing what we are going to say next while we wait for them to finish. True listening is not a passive activity but a demanding one. It involves concentration and is hard work.

When we understand another person because we have listened to them properly — whether in a church, community or political setting — we are less likely to demonise them. We are thus better able to interact with them, coexist with them and, yes, co-operate with them, in spite of real differences.

Holy conferencing is a set of principles we should all be applying to the way we conduct ourselves not just in our church lives, but also in our working lives and personal lives too — and how about over the square from Methodist Central Hall in the Houses of Parliament?

Near Christmas the Samaritans Purse Charity distributes Shoe Boxes filled with Gifts to Children overseas mostly in the countries of Eastern Europe and Africa.

Many of the parents of these Children can hardly afford to feed and clothe there children, let alone buy them presents for Christmas, but thanks to your generosity thousands of these children have received a brightly wrapped shoebox filled with presents to make the festive season special.

Our church has been donating boxes since 2003 when 23 were given one year we managed to send 41 boxes.

Hats and Gloves that are suitable for inclusion in the boxes have been knitted by a member of the congragation and will be available in the Hall on Sundays.

If you are able to donate this year please bring your box along on 1st or 8th November, and leave it on the table in the church hall.

The Charity requests a donation of £3 towards their costs in getting the boxes to there final destination. Leaflets are available giving more details about all this. The leaflets also contain labels so that the correct recipient of the boxes can be assured. They say things like Boy aged 2 to 5.

On Saturday 3rd October nineteen people met at the Netley Methodist Church for our Awayday. The day was led by our Minister the Rev. Arthur Cowburn. Netley Methodist Church is now used by a group called Pioneer as it was made redundant by the Southampton Circuit a few years ago. We were pleased to have some former members from the Church with us who now attend Hedge End. Those of us who had visited previously found it strange that it had chairs rather than the Pews now.

Our Study was focused on the Holy Spirit. Some of our Study Material was based on the Alpha Course Material and some of it was created by Rev. Arthur Cowburn. We had many chances for discussion in large and small groups and it was interesting to hear many peoples different experiences and Views of the Holy Spirit.

We Studied in several sessions having breaks in the Morning, for Lunch and in the Afternoon. We had several different sorts of cake in the Afternoon which had kindly been made by members of the congragation.

The day was not all spent in serious contemplation, as some of it was very lighthearted, and in the breaks and during Lunch we were able to spend some time enjoying the company of our fellow attendees.

On Saturday 10th October we will be holding our next Jammy Church. This event will take place between 10.30 and 12.30 p.m.

We shall be exploring Healing, Focusing on The Story of the Ten Lepers in Luke Chapter 17.

Jammy Church is our once monthly activity session for children, their families and the young at heart. There will be various activities and crafts to take part in and some food to eat. You do not need to attend all the session; you could just pop in to see what we are up to.

Christmas Day

Circuit Prayer Breakfast

Jammy Church

Broader Horizons

Broader HorizonsJanuary 20th, 2019

33days to go.

Plant Sale and Spring Fayre

Plant Sale and Spring FayreMay 4th, 2019

4months to go.

Hedge End Carnival

Hedge End CarnivalJuly 6th, 2019

6months to go.

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